任性单卖白色 卖家年收入过百万

 　　Selling linen¹ and tableware in only one colour may not sound like a million-pound idea.

　　只卖一种颜色的亚麻制品和餐桌布？这听起来不像是一个能赚到百万英镑的主意。

　　But Chrissie Rucker went six times better than that – making a staggering ?6.5million last year, ?2million more than the year before.The 46-year-old White Company founder² is now one of Britain’s highest-paid businesswomen after sales of the firm’s white-only goods soared over the past 12 months.

　　可是，英国女商人克丽茜·拉克却以上述方法赚到了六倍于上的利润——她在去年一年赚到了大约650万英镑，比前一年多出200万英镑。这位46岁的女商人是白色公司的创始者，这家公司只卖白色单色商铺，过去12个月公司销售量暴增，如今她已经成为了英国赚钱最多的女商人。

　　The home furnishings and fashion chain sells everything from ?70 candles to ?200 cashmere jumpers in a range of ‘neutral’, ‘winter white’ and ‘biscuit marl’ tones.

　　这家时尚家居装饰连锁店销售各种商品，从70英镑一件的蜡烛到200英镑一件的开司米套头衫，每件商品都是白色系的，从“自然色”、“冬白色”到“饼干灰”等等。

　　Tapping into the trend for clean, fresh furnishings, it has become a hit with middle-class families and now has 50 stores. The latest accounts show sales of ?144million in the 12 months to March, up from ?126million the year before.

　　迎合当前人们对干净、清爽的家居环境的偏好，这家连锁店已经在中产阶级家庭中蹿红，现在已经有了50家分店。最近的账目显示，截止到三月，该店12个月内的销售额达到了1.44亿英镑，比去年全年的销售额1.26亿英镑明显上升。

　　Miss Rucker founded the business 20 years ago after she struggled to find high-quality, affordable³ white bed linen and tableware for her boyfriend Nicholas Wheeler’s new flat. They later married and are one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurial couples, worth an estimated ?295million.

　　拉克小姐从20年前开始创业，当时，她正苦于找不到高档而又廉价的白色亚麻布床单和桌布好装饰男友尼古拉斯·惠特的新居。他们之后结为夫妻，如今已经成为英国最成功的伉俪企业家中的一对，身价大约为2.95亿英镑。

　　Mr Wheeler runs a shirt business and the couple were 326th in the 2014 Sunday Times rich list, up from 427th the year before. They live with their four children in a ?12.5million 17th Century manor⁴ in Buckinghamshire.

　　惠特先生经营衬衣销售生意。在《星期日泰晤士报》的财富排行榜上，这对夫妇2014年的排行是第326位，比前一年的第427位有所上升。这对夫妻和四个孩子一起住在白金汉郡一个价值1250万英镑的17世纪庄园里。

　　Miss Rucker, who had no business experience and left school at 16 with a C in her maths, now employs more than 1,000 workers and was awarded an MBE in 2010 for services to retail⁵.

　　拉克小姐16岁离开学校，数学成绩只得了C，没有任何从商经验。如今她却管理着超过1000名员工，在2010年以其在零售业的卓越贡献获得英帝国勋章 。

1 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。